


A Dream is a Wish

by rowofstars



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Enchanted Forest, F/M, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s06e11 Tougher Than the Rest, Reunions, Spoilers, Wish Realm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-29 21:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10144313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowofstars/pseuds/rowofstars
Summary: A fix it for the fate of Belle and Rumbelle in the Wish Realm.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I just had to. It was too sad.

The first sign that something was amiss was the slight weakening of the wards on his prison. Rumplestiltskin awoke from a hazy sleep, not knowing how many days had passed, and not truly caring either, to the tickling sensation of magic. He frowned and started pacing the perimeter of his cell, but a moment later when Regina - no, this _other_ Regina - showed up, he knew it had been caused by her.

What she’d said about being from another world sort of made sense. He’d read of such a thing going back to some of the oldest texts he could find. Everyone knew there were other realms, of course, but it was only a theory that there could also be copies of those worlds as well, a new one splitting off every time an important decision was made. That implied they were infinite in number, and the thought of more than one of him in existence was disconcerting to say the least.

As soon as he was left Princess Emma and the other Regina, he transported himself to Regina’s castle. Before his unfortunate and extended imprisonment, he’d discovered that Belle had never made it home to Avonlea, and further, that she’d tried to return to the Dark Castle only to be intercepted by this world’s Regina. Naturally, he assumed he would find his True Love in the highest tower, yet he hesitated before opening the door. 

There was a chance he might not find her at all. She could have escaped once the magic wards weakened after Regina’s defeat, or coerced a guard and broken free. It had been years since the Charming’s victory, perhaps she was home after all. Married and plump with old age and a heap of children.

The thought of her with someone else sent a stabbing pain through his chest and he raised his hand to the door, his magic ready to blast it open. But he paused again. She could be dead. If no one knew she was here to be rescued, or worse, didn’t want to rescue her because of her association to the Dark One, she could have been left to rot. She would have eventually starved to death. Maybe she had seen what was coming and thrown herself from the balcony, as in the lie Regina concocted to make him stop looking for her.

Rumplestiltskin steeled himself and waved his hand, forcing himself to watch as the door swung open and -

“R-rumple?” came a weak voice.

His heart soared and he hurried into the room to her side.

“Oh, Belle,” he breathed, sinking to his knees by the small cot she laid on. “My Belle.”

She looked up at him and smiled, raising a hand to brush his face. “Knew you’d come,” she said. 

Her weakened muscles caused her to miss his cheek entirely and her hand to flop down to the straw mattress. 

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he said, brushing her hair back from her face. It was dull and barely curled, but the same length as he remembered. 

Oddly, almost everything about her was as he remembered. She looked like she’d barely aged a day. There were some lines on her face that hadn’t been there before, but those were possibly due to dehydration more than anything, and he frowned. There wasn’t much in the room except the bed, a small table with one chair, and a vanity with an oval mirror. That was probably so Regina could keep an eye on Belle when she wasn’t there. His frown turned into a scowl.

Then he saw the haze of magic on the table, and the empty bowl that sat in it. A recurring spell to make a bowl of rice and a cup of water appear every day at the same time, and a rather strong blood magic spell on top of it. Possibly to keep the occupant of the room from aging too rapidly. The food and the spells weren’t enough to keep anyone fit and strong, but enough to keep them going. Probably in case her incompetent guards forgot to feed the prisoner, or didn’t want to. He shook his head. At least Regina had enough sense to do such a thing if she wanted to keep Belle alive so she could be used against him.

One of his hands tightened into a fist.

“What’s wrong?” Belle asked, her hand reaching for him again.

He turned back to her and took her hand in his, kissing her fingers. They were too pale and thin, and her nails were flaking. Her face was a bit sunken and her eyes were as dull as her hair, but she was still breathtakingly beautiful to him as ever.

“Nothing, my love,” he replied, pressing his lips against the back of her hand. She was alive and that was what mattered. Anything but death could be fixed with magic or time. “I’m going to take you home now, okay?”

Belle frowned and struggled to sit up, and he moved to sit next to her, pulling her up beside him and supporting her with an arm around her shoulder. “N-Not to my father?” she managed.

Her eyes might not have had their usual sparkle, but her glare was no less menacing to him than before.

Rumplestiltskin shook his head. “No, not unless you - you want to go -?”

She threw her arms around his neck as best she could and squeezed him weakly. “No,” she answered, her voice much more firm than it had been. “With you.”

He smiled, one arm going around her to hold her close. “Of course.”

In a whirl of purple smoke they were transported to the Dark Castle. He caught her as she staggered on wobbly, weak legs, and helped her to sit back on the chaise in front of the fireplace in her library. She looked around as if dazed, taking in the room as if she’d seen it for the first time, and then beamed at him.

He nodded, and draped a blanket around her shoulders as the low flames jumped to life with a thought. The dress she was wearing was not one he’d made for her, but one that was much more in Regina’s style. A rich blue velvet slit up the sides to her thigh that, while flattering, was not warm or likely comfortable. His ire at his dead protege grew, and he contemplated taking it out on her counterpart, though it would hardly be as satisfying. It would probably upset Belle as well, and all he cared about right now was her comfort and health.

“Some tea?” he offered, waving a hand and appearing their old tea set, complete with chipped cup, on the table next to the lounge. “And food?”

Another tray of cheese and cured meats appeared on the floor in a haze of purple.

Belle nodded, but leaned into him, holding his hand so he couldn’t leave. “Yes, but in a minute, alright?” 

He inclined his head in agreement and sat back, bringing her with him so she was resting against his chest. He bent and kissed the top of her head, grateful she was here and letting him be close to her, but not wanting to push anything more. He had been quite the bastard to her, forcing her to leave when all he wanted was for her to stay forever. It was a bit surprising that she was this forgiving, but maybe her time in solitude had only made her long for another person and she didn’t care who it was.

“It’s been a long time,” she said with certainty, her eyes fixed on the fire. “How long?”

Rumplestiltskin swallowed. “Um, 28 years, I think?”

She sighed. “I stopped counting after two. It seemed pointless.”

His throat tightening at the memory of all those white chalk marks on the wall. Her father was probably dead now, so were some of her friends. She’d been separated from them by him, no chance to say goodbye, and now by Regina’s evil as well. “I’m so sorry,” he said as his vision started to blur. “I should have been there. I shouldn’t have -”

“But you _came_ ,” she insisted, tilting her head up so she could look at his face. “You saved me.”

He nodded, shaking free a tear from the corner of his eye and feeling it run down his cheek. He was unable to say anything for fear of breaking down and letting out every bit of madness that had been cooped up inside his brain for the last three decades. If what the other Regina had said was true, then this world existed because of a wish, and it could all disappear in a moment. 

“Belle,” he said softly, shifting back so he could see her face. She blinked at him, her face already looking better in just the little while she’d been back in his castle. “I -”

She frowned and cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb over the salty trail left behind by his tears. “What is it, Rumple?”

He took a breath, let his eyes close and then open slowly as he exhaled. “I love you.”

He’d already started panicking by the time her lips were pressed against his. They were dry and thin, but nothing had ever felt better. His hand came up to cradle the back of her head, and he wondered if maybe she’d let him wash her hair later. If they had a later. He felt the telltale rush of magic that make his stomach swoop. It was bright and warm, but strange too, like the unwinding of something. Whether it was his curse or the entire realm he couldn’t say, but when her arms came up around his neck and she all but lifted herself into his lap, he couldn’t really say he cared. 

In this moment, Rumplestiltskin believed wholeheartedly that this world had been created by a wish, for he could think of nothing better to wish for than the woman in his arms.


End file.
